Handbook of Information Security Management
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Author(s): Hal Tipton and Micki Krause, Consulting Editors
ISBN: 0849399475
Publication Date: 01/01/98

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In addition, the military looks at IW as including electronic warfare (e.g., jamming communications links); surveillance systems, precision strike (e.g., if a telecommunications switching system is bombed, it is IW); and advanced battlefield management (e.g., using information and information systems to provide information on which to base military decisions when prosecuting a war).

This may be confusing, but many, including those in the business sector, believe that the term information warfare goes far beyond the military-oriented definition. Some, such as Winn Schwartau, author and lecturer, have a broader definition of IW and that includes such things as hackers attacking business systems, governments attacking businesses, even hackers attacking other hackers. He divides IW into three categories, but from a different perspective. He believes that IW should be looked at by using these categories:

  • Level 1: Interpersonal Damage. This is damage to individuals, which includes anything from harassment, privacy loss, and theft of personal information, for example.
  • Level 2: Intercorporate Damage. This is attacks on businesses and government agencies, which includes such things as theft of computer services and theft of information for industrial espionage.
  • Level 3: International and Intertrading Block Damage. This relates to the destabilization of societies and economies, which includes terrorist attacks and economic espionage.

There seems to be more of the traditional, business-oriented look at what many call computer or high-tech crimes. By using the traditional government view of information warfare, the case can be made for Level 2 and Level 3 coming closest to the government’s (i.e., primarily the Department of Defense) view of information warfare.

Then, there are those who tend to either separate or combine the term information warfare and information age warfare. To differentiate between these two terms is not that difficult. By using the Tofflers’ thoughts about the three waves as a guide, as previously discussed information age warfare can be defined as warfare fought in the information age, with information age computer-based weapons systems, primarily dominated by the use of electronic and information systems. It is not this author’s intent to establish an all-encompassing definition of IW, but only to identify it as an issue to consider when discussing information and information age warfare. Further, those information systems security professionals within the government, and particularly those in the Department of Defense, will probably use any definition as it relates to military actions.

Those information systems security professionals within the private business sector (assuming that they were interested in using the term information warfare) would probably align themselves closer to Mr. Schwartau’s definition. Those information systems security professionals within the private sector who agree with the government’s definition would probably continue to use the computer crime terminology in lieu of Mr. Schwartau’s definition.

The question arises if information warfare is something that the nongovernment business-oriented information systems security professional should be concerned about. Each information systems security professional must be the judge of that based on his or her working environment and also on how he or she see things from a professional viewpoint. Regardless, information warfare will grow in importance as a factor to consider, much as viruses, hackers, and other current threats must be considered.

The discussion of information warfare can be divided into three primary topics:

  • Military-oriented war.
  • Economic espionage.
  • Technology-oriented terrorism (i.e., techno-terrorism).

MILITARY-ORIENTED WAR

The military technology revolution is just beginning. In the U.S., the military no longer drives technology as it once did in the 1930s through the 1970s. The primary benefactor of early technology was the government, primarily the Department of Defense (DoD), which in those early days of technology (e.g., ENIAC) the DoD had funding and the biggest need for technology. This was the time of both hot wars and the Cold War. The secondary benefactor was NASA (e.g., space exploration).

Between these government agencies, and to a lesser extent others, hardware and software products were developed with a derivative benefit to the private, commercial, and business sector. After all, these were expensive developments and only the government could afford to fund such research and development efforts. Today, the government has taken a back seat to the private sector. As hardware and software became cheaper, it became more cost effective for private ventures into technology research, development, and production. Now, technology is being business driven. Computers, microprocessors, telecommunications, satellites, faxes, video, software, networks, the Internet, and multimedia are just some of the technologies that are driving the information period. In the U.S., more than 95% of military communications are conducted over commercial systems.

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